AXIS
has obtained a resolution to grant detailed planning permission from Cheshire
East Council for 14 eco-homes in the Cheshire Green Belt as part of a
development allowing an ancient peat bog to be restored to wetland.

Plans
for the 14 bespoke family homes, adjacent to the Lindow Moss peat extraction
site near Wilmslow, were approved by Cheshire East Council’s planning committee
on December 20, 2018.

The
scheme, which has the support of a number of environmental organisations, will
see the peat bog restored as a wetland for birds and a variety of protected
species.

The
homes are to be built on a 1.76-hectare parcel of land to the south of the peat
bog and currently used as a peat storage and processing facility.

The sustainable homes range from four to five bedroom properties, each with garages and gardens, and are situated around landscaped courtyards and communal space.

Arranged
in clusters, the scheme is designed to limit the effect on the openness of the
Green Belt through small groups of housing and clear spaces. Existing
landscaping and mature trees around the site will be retained to reduce its
visual impact on the surroundings.

AXIS
worked with award winning Manchester-based Architects Calder Peel on the
project. Each of the homes will benefit
from high levels of thermal insulation, far surpassing those required by
current building regulations. They will
use solar photovoltaic panels for heat, while ‘solar chimneys’, integrated as
part of greenhouse areas for home-grown, sustainable food, will encourage
natural ventilation through passive solar energy.

The
orientation of the homes, coupled with large glazed openings on the south
elevations, will allow them to maximise solar heat gain during the winter
months.

Meanwhile,
timber solar shading will protect the homes from unwanted additional heat gain
from the high position of the sun in the summer months. Smaller areas of glazing
on the north elevations will guard against unwanted heat loss.

The
site, owned by Messrs Bond and Rowland, has been used for peat extraction since
the 1950s. It became famous in 1984 when the remains of an Iron Age man,
nicknamed Lindow Man, were found perfectly preserved in the peat. The
2,000-year-old body was later transferred to the British Museum.